'Chunyu' Bell with Tiger-Form Handle
5th-3rd century BCE
Description
Tall upright form with oval cross-section, with sides rising to wide, rounded shoulders, surmounted by a flat platform top with neatly finished raised edge and a figure of a tiger at the center for the handle; the stylized feline with long tail and wide jaws, fitted with a collar and decorated with finely detailed linear scroll motifs; three pictograms cast into the flat top, including antlered figures in a boat, a fish, and a human mask, the smooth surface with dark olive green patina. Much like a musical gong, chunyu bells are struck to emit their sounds.
Dimensions
H. 45 x Diam. 23.7 cm (17 11/16 x 9 5/16 in.)
Provenance
[J.J. Lally & Co., New York, March 2001] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2001-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.
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